Let your second grader’s imagination soar with a jar of story starters! This fun activity gives your child a jumping off point on the road to storytelling. What twists and turns will your child take? Creativity and sequencing skills combine to create wild stories that will have the whole family in stitches!
What You Need:
- Clear glass jar (quart size or larger)
- 5 pieces of 8.5” X 11” paper
- Scissors
- Marker
What You Do:
- Start with a clear glass jar. A quart size mason jar works well.
- Divide the sheets of paper into four strips of approximately 2” X 11” each.
- Cut along the divisions to separate the strips. Twenty strips will give you a great start to your jar.
- On each strip, use a marker to write a sentence. The sentences should be creative enough to grab your second grader’s attention and get his imagination working at top speed.
- Here are a few sample sentences to get you started:
“There once was a man with a talking dog.”
“Yesterday, I traveled to the moon.”
“There is a monster living in the house next door.”
“You can get to a magical world through the door to my bedroom.”
“Once upon a time, there was a family with 318 children.”
- Fold the strips and place them into the jar.
- Say, “We’re going to tell a story.” Pull one strip out of the jar and read the sentence to your child. Ask, “What happens next?”
- Take turns adding to the story. Encourage your second grader with appropriate prompting questions.
“How does he feel?”
“Then what happens?”
“What should she do to fix that problem?”
- If you get stuck, you may pull one more sentence to get you going again.
Take the activity to another level by writing down your child’s story. Be sure to leave room for illustrations!
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